Most importantly and most imminently, this story is a reminder that Coach Petrino doesn’t ignore the Defense. In his 4th Season at Louisville, Bobby Petrino’s squad gave up only 16.31 points per game for which Louisville ranked 17th of 119 D-I schools in points allowed per game in 2006. A stout defense like that, even if it was in the Big East, didn’t appear overnight.

Elvis Dumervil was big part of building Louisville’s defense. A John L. Smith recruit in 2002, Dumervil played as a true freshman and then for Coach Petrino in 2003 and 2004. Out of high school he was ranked as the 25th best Defensive End and managed only a three-star ranking. Louisville Cardinal Football Player Bio — 58 Elvis Dumervil

In Dumervil’s last season at Louisville, the Cardinal Defense ranked 25th in points allowed per game at 19.67 which was an improvement over the 72nd ranking in the same category in 2003 when Louisville gave up 27.77 points per game. J. Howell, NCAA Division IA Football Power Rankingsas retrieved and sorted for the appropriate information In 2004 alone, Dumervil recorded 10 sacks and logged 52 total tackles as a defensive lineman. Louisville Cardinal Football Player Bio — 58 Elvis Dumervil He was then and is now the kind of person and player upon whom a team is built.

If my post “You Can’t Get There From Here” was a bonfire signalling from the beach, Elvis Dumervil is the lighthouse for those that thought Arkansas Recruiting was adrift in February.

With his college ball a little in perspective, read what the Associated Press wrote (via ESPN) on Elvis Dumervil.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Elvis Dumervil’s route to riches was somewhat unconventional by today’s NFL standards for superstars. He didn’t posture, wasn’t petulant or pouty. He didn’t rip his coaches or the front office, hold out of minicamps or ask for a trade.

Coming off an NFL-leading and team-record 17 sacks last season, Dumervil signed his restricted free agent tender and continued working out with the Denver Broncos during the offseason while his agent and general manager exchanged figures.

Dumervil hit pay dirt with a $61.5 million extension through 2015 that includes $43.168 million in guarantees, a record for a player at his pass-rushing position.

His agent and his coach both suggested Dumervil’s payday wasn’t just about his pass-rushing prowess but also came about because of his patience and professionalism.

Dumervil said he was raised with a strong work ethic and he praised the advice he got from family members and his agent.

“And so at the end of the day, I knew my value and there was no need to go out and pout or go out, you know, the way other guys may have handled things because I know that character is No. 1 for me and I knew if I could bring the stats along with that it gave me a good chance,” Dumervil said.

Coach Josh McDaniels, who has shipped Pro Bowlers Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall out of town — where they got big extensions from their new teams — said the humble, hardworking Dumervil is the kind of player a team can be built around.

“The way he has handled this lengthy negotiation this offseason is a great example of the type of player and person we want on our team,” McDaniels said.Dumervil guaranteed $43M in new deal

Character trait for character trait, Dumervil sounds like the star athletes the State of Arkansas has produced.

He’s hard-working and comes from common surroundings. He’s unassuming, gets-the-job-done, quiet, respectful, and most of all, he’s deserving. If Dumervil were from Arkansas or had any ties here, no one would take offense at placing his name next to Taylor, Fisher, Pippen, Martin, Alworth, Atwater or Robinson.

The way Petrino and Smith recruit, chances are, there is an Elvis-Dumervil-style player on campus now.

For those on the D-Line who step up, Hog Fans will gladly clear off a seat next to Dan Hampton for you.

SharpTusk is a featured blogger on Hog Database. He won "2009 Blog Of The Year" as voted by members of SportingNews.com and has posts referenced by local and national sports writers. Sharp began writing about Arkansas Razorbacks Football during the coaching change in 2007 and hasn't stopped. He has an eye for interesting stats, and an occasional penchant for creative writing. He's sure to keep you coming back for more.

4 Responses

Warning: call_user_func() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function 'gtcn_basic_callback' not found or invalid function name in /home/hogdb/public_html/wp-includes/class-walker-comment.php on line 174

Warning: call_user_func() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function 'gtcn_basic_callback' not found or invalid function name in /home/hogdb/public_html/wp-includes/class-walker-comment.php on line 174

Warning: call_user_func() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function 'gtcn_basic_callback' not found or invalid function name in /home/hogdb/public_html/wp-includes/class-walker-comment.php on line 174

Warning: call_user_func() expects parameter 1 to be a valid callback, function 'gtcn_basic_callback' not found or invalid function name in /home/hogdb/public_html/wp-includes/class-walker-comment.php on line 174